WebQuest Objectives


Before We Start Researching:

  • To understand the difference between a primary and a secondary source
  • To analyze and explain the credibility of various Internet sources

Part A The Salem Witch Trials:

  • To understand the context or situation in which the Salem Witch Trials took place
  • To understand the role that the leaders of the Puritan community played in the Salem Witch Trials
  • To identify and reflect upon the motives of the accusers in the Salem Witch Trials

Part B McCarthyism and Arthur Miller:

  • To understand what motivated Arthur Miller to write The Crucible in response to McCarthyism.
  • To explore how a literary work (such as a play) can comment upon and have an effect upon a society
  • To understand the role of the leaders, the public, and the media in the events that transpired during the historical/political period known as McCarthyism
  • To compare McCarthyism to the Salem Witch Trials

Why is this relevant today?

  • To explore how we can learn from events in the past as a society and how literature can help us to more clearly see ourselves and our society
  • To explore ways that the themes of The Crucible relate to other times in history and to the present day